In a casement window built for use in the United States, customers prefer that the window swing outwardly of the building, as contrasted with the British preference for an inward swinging casement window. This preference aggravates the problems of using a window screen with a casement window. A solution to these problems is addressed by the present invention.
When it is desired to use a window that can be opened, incorporating a screen usually is a consideration but always presents a problem irrespective of the type of window used. Most commonly, whether the window is casement, double or single hung, sliding, jalousie, or other type that can be opened, the screen is typically fixed and always in the line of sight even though it is obviously more of an obstruction than the glass of the window.
The use of a screen in an American-style casement window presents an additional problem. The screen must be placed on the inside of the window or else it will interfere with the outward swinging of the sash. The appearance of the window from the inside is thus dominated by the screen and detracts from the window design. The presence of the screen may be even more annoying when the window is made of wood, since the metal of the screen and its austere construction may be considered to detract from the natural beauty of the wood.
Attempts have been made to solve these problems by providing retractable screens. The known commercial type of retractable screen is contained in a housing that is mounted within the window frame under the header. Although the screen is concealed in the housing, the entire metal screen unit is still visible at the top of the window, covering a small part of the viewing area, but still detracting from window design itself, especially if the window is made of wood. Yet, there is an advantage of this exposed mounting since it is readily accessible for servicing of the screen unit.
It is also known to conceal screen units within a window frame so that the screen itself can be moved over the window opening or retracted out of the window opening. Such a concealed screen is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,260,641 to Cavaglieri. Although this construction conceals the screen and its roller, the guide tracks for the screen and mounting brackets used with the installation are still exposed, thereby detracting from the appearance of the window, whether of metal or wood. These mounting brackets enable access to the screen recess for limited servicing of the unit, but only the screen itself can be removed and replaced. The screen roller and other mechanism cannot be removed or accessed without ripping out the window or parts thereof, a task that would discourage use of this patented structure.